red moscow

Chapter 3030

As before, the infantry brigade's attack lacked artillery cover. According to Sokov, as soon as the Germans heard the artillery fire, except for a few observation posts, the rest of their troops retreated along the trenches to the second line of defense. The shells rained down on the German positions mostly hit unoccupied, empty positions. Once the shelling ended, the Germans would return along the trenches to the first line of defense to intercept the attacking Soviet troops.

Therefore, as soon as the order to attack was given, the officers and soldiers of the First Battalion quietly left their hiding places, carrying their weapons, crouching low, and in groups of three or five, they made their way along the buildings on both sides of the street toward the buildings and churches occupied by the German army in the distance.

Sokov received a call from Yefim, informing him that the troops had already launched their attack. Although he didn't say anything, his heart was in his throat. He listened intently to the sounds outside, silently praying that the gunfire and explosions would come as late as possible. The later they started, the closer the officers and soldiers of the First Battalion were to the enemy's position.

Gunshots finally rang out outside.

Sokov recognized the sound as coming from an MG34 general-purpose machine gun, indicating that the attacking force's movements had been discovered by the enemy hiding in the building, who were now firing wildly at them. Although he was worried, he didn't immediately call Yefim to inquire, lest he disrupt Yefim's command rhythm.

Shortly after the gunfire, a loud explosion rang out. Sokov knew it wasn't a grenade exploding, but rather the sound of an artillery shell hitting its target. If his guess was correct, it was artillery deployed in the ruined building, bombarding an enemy strongpoint.

A dozen minutes later, the telephone on the table rang.

Karsokov grabbed the microphone: "I am Chief of Staff Karsokov. What do you want to report?"

After listening for a while, a happy expression appeared on his face, and he said, "Well done, Captain. But you must not be complacent. Keep up the good work and try to take down the other buildings as well."

After hanging up the phone, Karsokov reported to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, Captain Yefim reports that his troops have stormed into a building on the right and are engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy inside. Judging from the current situation, they will be able to capture the entire building in a few minutes at most."

Hearing that the soldiers of the First Battalion had stormed into the building and were engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy inside, Sokov was not as happy as he had imagined. He knew very well that if the enemy put up a stubborn resistance, it would take a lot of time to completely eliminate them or drive them out of the building, and it would not be as easy as Yefim had imagined.

However, seeing that Karsokov was in a good mood, he didn't dampen his spirits, but casually asked, "Where did the deputy brigade commander go?"

"He went to the Fourth Battalion," Karsokov said. "He seems to have a good relationship with Major Vasya, and he likes to go to the Fourth Battalion whenever there is a battle."

"The Fourth Battalion is the strongest in the entire brigade," Sokov said with a smile. "If my position were reversed with his, I would also look at the Fourth Battalion in a different light."

After the fighting broke out in the city, the army group headquarters naturally received the report.

Rokossovsky did not call Sokov immediately, but waited until half an hour into the battle before calling Sokov: "Misha, how is the battle going over there?"

"Reporting to Commander," Sokov replied hastily. "The First Battalion has already occupied half of the first floor of the building. The soldiers are currently engaged in fierce fighting with the enemy inside. I believe it won't be long before we can completely capture the building."

"What? You've only occupied half the area of ​​one building?" Rokossovsky frowned upon hearing this. "Too slow, Misha. You're moving too slowly. At this rate, you might only be able to capture a few buildings in a day. You need to find a way to speed up the attack, understand?"

"I understand, Comrade Commander." Sokov himself felt that the pace of progress was indeed too slow, and quickly assured Rokossovsky, "I will speed up the offensive and strive to recapture Klyukovo before nightfall."

After hanging up the phone, Sokov said to Karsokov, "Comrade Chief of Staff, the Commander thinks our current offensive pace is too slow and wants us to speed it up?"

Upon hearing Sokov's words, Karsokov's face immediately fell: "Comrade Brigade Commander, we are facing a strong defensive position. Our allies fought all day yesterday without making any progress. We have now controlled half of one of the positions. Isn't that fast enough?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, our objective is not to capture one or a few buildings," Sokov said solemnly, "but to take Klyukovo back from the Germans. At the current rate of fighting, it will be difficult to complete the mission before nightfall."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Immediately deploy the Second and Third Battalions into battle," Sokov instructed the other party. "Call the two battalion commanders immediately and have them come over to receive the mission."

Not long after, the two battalion commanders who received the call rushed to the brigade headquarters.

Upon seeing Sokov, Nazorov eagerly asked, "Comrade Brigade Commander, what mission do you have for us?"

"Comrades, time is of the essence, so I won't say much more and will get straight to the task at hand." Sokov pointed to the map spread out on the table and said to the two men, "The First Battalion has now occupied half of the building on the right, but headquarters thinks our progress is too slow. In order to achieve the goal of driving the enemy out of the city before dark, I intend to have your two battalions immediately put into battle."

Upon hearing Sokov's words, both battalion commanders' faces lit up with joy. After exchanging a glance, they said in unison, "Comrade Brigade Commander, please issue the combat orders."

"Captain Alexei!" Sokov didn't waste any words and immediately began assigning tasks: "Your 2nd Battalion will attack the two buildings on the left and try to capture them. Remember, use your brains in battle, don't foolishly send your soldiers to charge recklessly, and try to minimize casualties."

"Okay, Brigade Commander, I've got it."

“And you, Captain Nazarov,” Sokov pointed to Captain Nazarov, the commander of the 3rd Battalion, and continued, “Your 3rd Battalion, attack this block on the right…” Before Sokov could finish speaking, Nazarov said aggrievedly, “Comrade Brigade Commander, why are the 1st and 2nd Battalions attacking the enemy’s heavily fortified buildings, while you’re sending our battalion to attack a place that’s insignificant?”

"Captain Nazarov!" Sokov said sternly to Nazarov, "Just because it's not important now doesn't mean it won't be important later. If the 1st and 2nd Battalions capture the strongholds the Germans rely on, the areas you consider unimportant could very well become the Germans' second strongholds. Capturing these areas in advance can prevent our troops from suffering more casualties in the upcoming battles. Do you understand this principle?"

After being criticized by Sokov, Nazorov scratched the back of his head and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Comrade Brigade Commander, after hearing what you said, I think I understand something. Once the enemy is driven out of the church and buildings, they may retreat to the streets you asked me to attack and organize new defenses there."

Sokov smiled, nodded to Nazorov, and said approvingly, "Captain Nazorov, it seems you understand my intention. In that case, all of you should return to your units immediately and launch an attack on the enemy as quickly as possible."

The phone rang again shortly after the two battalion commanders left.

This time, the caller was not Rokossovsky, but Major General Levyagin, commander of the 8th Guards Division.

Levyagin tentatively asked Sokov over the phone, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I saw your men storm one of the buildings; they did a really good job. Is there anywhere I can help you?"

"Comrade General!" Sokov replied politely, "I suppose you have also received the commander's call, instructing you to send troops to take over the area we have occupied once my brigade has captured the enemy's positions and continues to advance."

“Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, to be honest, the troops have been ready for a long time,” Levyagin said with a smile. “We’re just waiting for you to take over the enemy’s positions.”

"Comrade General! The building on the right will likely be captured by our troops soon," Sokov said into the microphone. "When you see people waving red flags inside the building, you can send troops in."

“Yes, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov,” Levyagin said. “I will inform the troops below to keep an eye out for our red flags in those buildings.”

After ending his call with Levyagin, Sokov called Yefim and asked bluntly, "Comrade Captain, please tell me, how much longer will it take you to take down that building?"

Yefim blushed deeply with embarrassment upon hearing Sokov's words. He had boasted to Sokov that he could take the building in a very short time. However, more than an hour had passed, and the enemy inside the building was still not eliminated.

He hesitated for a long time before cautiously saying, "Comrade Brigade Commander, could you give me another hour, no, forty minutes? In forty minutes, my troops will definitely be able to capture this building. I hope you can grant my request."

“I can give you another forty minutes.” Sokov understood the ferocity of the battle for the building; simply issuing an order wouldn’t speed up the capture. He readily agreed to Yefim’s request and continued, “I’ve already committed the 2nd and 3rd Battalions to the battle. I hope you don’t fall too far behind them. Oh, and one last thing: once you’ve captured the building, wave the red flag at the window to let the commanders of the 8th Guards Division take over your area, and then you can continue advancing.”

After the Second and Third Battalions entered the battle, their performance did not disappoint Sokov.

By noon, the four buildings and the street on the right had been completely occupied, with only the enemy inside the church still putting up a last-ditch resistance.

After returning from the Fourth Battalion, Belkin went up to the roof to check on the battle situation ahead. He then came back to Sokov and said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, the enemy in the church is very stubborn and has strong fighting power. Our attack has failed. Do you have any ideas on how to quickly take this church?"

“The best way is to bombard the church with artillery fire to destroy it as much as possible and leave the enemy with nowhere to hide.” After saying this, Sokov turned to Karsokov and instructed him: “Chief of Staff, call that artillery company commander and have him immediately move the artillery to a more suitable position to bombard the church and prepare to fire.”

“Comrade Brigade Commander!” Belkin said to Sokov as he went to make the call, “These old buildings are very sturdy, and it would be difficult to destroy them by bombarding them with 76.2mm cannons.”

“Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, I understand what you’ve said.” Sokov explained to Belkin, “It’s obviously unrealistic to completely destroy this church with just one artillery battery. I ordered the artillery battery to bombard the church simply to destroy the enemy’s firing positions so that the infantry could rush into the church.”

Frankly, even if Sokov had the ability to raze the church to the ground, he was unwilling to destroy it easily. Because it wouldn't be long before the German army would storm back into the city, and without a few sturdy buildings for defense, it would be difficult to withstand the German offensive. Therefore, his orders to the artillery company were only to destroy the exposed firing positions, not to completely destroy the church.

The 2nd and 1st battalions launched their attack from the left and right sides of the church, respectively, but the attacking soldiers were quickly overwhelmed by the firepower pouring from inside the church. At this moment, the artillery company, which had just changed positions, opened fire.

The artillery accurately destroyed the exposed firing points. Seeing that the enemy's machine guns had fallen silent, the soldiers who had been pinned to the ground and unable to raise their heads got up again under the leadership of their company and platoon leaders and charged toward the church.

Sokov and Belkin stood on the roof of the command post, looking through their binoculars at the soldiers surging into the church like a tide, and smiled with satisfaction.

He put down his binoculars and said to Belkin beside him, "Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, once our soldiers capture this church, we can then launch a full-scale attack on the city hall."

Upon hearing Sokov mention the city hall, Belkin became excited: "Yes, once we've eliminated the enemies in the church, we can officially launch our attack on the city hall. When the soldiers storm the city hall, send two soldiers to plant the red flag on the top of the building so we can report to headquarters that our brigade has successfully captured Klyukovo."

“Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, simply occupying the city is far from enough. We must wipe out all the enemies in the city before our mission is complete.” Sokov looked at the church shrouded in thick smoke in the distance and continued, “You must understand that only after we have completely recaptured this city can the army group headquarters move back.”

“Yes, yes, only after the enemy in the city is completely wiped out can the headquarters be moved back.” Belkin recalled a rumor he had heard and continued, “By the way, Comrade Brigade Commander, I just heard a rumor. Two army groups sent by the Supreme Command have been added to our flank, and they will soon assist us in launching a full-scale counter-offensive against the enemy.”

(End of this chapter)